Yesterday, we brought you the first images of Volkswagen’s Golf GTI Cabriolet study but today we have live photos from the car’s world premiere at the Wörthersee meeting in Austria along with official information on the concept.
The hotted-up convertible is based on the standard Golf GTI with power coming from the same 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine delivering 210-horsepower and 280 Nm (207-lbs/ft) of peak torque at 1.800 rpm.
Volkswagen says the open-air model’s performance matches that of the closed-top GTI with a 0-100km/h (62mph) sprint time of 7 seconds and a top speed of around 240km/h (149 mph).
Finished in a fire red “Firespark Metallic” color, the Golf GTI Cabriolet rides on a lowered suspension and black-silver 19-inch “Glendale” alloy wheels with 235 tires. The car’s appearance is more aggressive than the GTI hatchback thanks to the add-on aero parts designed in shiny black piano paint.
Volkswagen’s designers also made changes to the front bumper as the fog lights of the GTI gave way to air guides for ventilating the upgraded high-performance brake system that includes brake callipers painted in “Tornado Red” with black GTI logos. At the rear end, there’s a new diffuser with a honeycomb grille separating the redesign exhaust tail pipes.
The concept model’s interior features “Black Stripe” pattern accents and Nappa leather seats with red GTI logos in the head restraints, along with two-tone door inserts and aluminum sill plates. The red decorative seams on the leather-trimmed steering wheel and the trim of the gearshift and parking brake levers as well as on the seat belts complete the upgrades.
Even though VW says the Golf GTI Cabriolet is a pure concept for the time being, we see no reason why the company wouldn’t go ahead and build a production model in the very near future.
